Agenda item

The Strategy and Resources Executive Advisory Board (EAB) was invited to consider a report in respect of the interventions proposed in relation to the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) Government grants.  The report outlined any proposed changes to projects and project spend since the submission of Guildford’s UKSPF Investment Plan in August 2022.  The paper was introduced by the Lead Councillor for Finance and Planning Policy and was presented by the Head of Regeneration and Corporate Programmes.

The EAB was advised that the Council had been awarded £1 million from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ (DLUHC’) UKSPF to spend on capital and revenue activities between the financial years 2022-23 to 2024-25, with the aim of building pride in places and increasing life chances through investing in three investment priorities: Communities, Local Businesses, and People and Skills.

The UKSPF grant was then followed by the launch of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ REPF, which allocated the Council £400,000 to spend on capital grants to support rural businesses and communities from 2023-24 to 2024-25.

In order to access its UKSPF and REPF allocations, the Council had submitted an Investment Plan and Addendum, respectively, outlining the opportunities and challenges facing the Borough, in addition to its investment priorities.  Both the UKSPF Investment Plan and REPF Addendum had been informed by feedback from, and discussions with, a range of stakeholders.  Since the submission of the UKSPF Investment Plan, further discussions with Council officers, external stakeholders and partners had been conducted to develop the projects put forward in Guildford’s Investment Plan.  In addition, there had been changes to some of the projects outlined, which would require approval from the DLUHC should the Council decide to pursue the changes.

On 5 December 2022, DLUHC confirmed the validation of Guildford’s UKSPF Investment Plan.  Having now received its first year of UKSPF allocation, the Council needed to decide if and how it should progress the projects it had proposed in its Investment Plan.

Following the consultations involving councillors, officers and local stakeholders, the following projects totalling £1 million had been put forward for inclusion in Guildford’s UKSPF Investment Plan:

·             Town Centre Improvements - £60,000

·             Community and Neighbourhood Improvements (including Hostile Vehicle Mitigation proposal) - £300,000

·             E-Bike Hire Scheme with Surrey County Council and University of Surrey - £200,000

·             Marketing and Events - £19,500

·             Community Grants - £300,000

·             Visitor Economy - £20,500

·             Business Support - £30,000

·             Feasibility Study - £20,000

·             Business Decarbonisation Scheme with Surrey County Council and other Surrey Districts and Boroughs - £50,000

The presentation given by the Head of Regeneration and Corporate Programmes provided an overview of the two Prosperity Funds and outlined the UKSPF proposed interventions, the proposed Joint Rural Grant Programme, the proposed change to the UPSPF profile spend, the proposed Local Delivery Board and the next steps.

The following points arose from ensuing questions, comments and discussion for forwarding to the Executive:

1.           Although some of the intervention schemes were delivered directly by the Council, there were also grant schemes, such as new Leader-style grants and the community crowd fund, for which businesses and community groups would need to apply for from the Council.  A substantial item of work for the Council to pursue in the coming months was to establish the formula to be applied in terms of identifying which groups it wished to target for support specifically and to develop an assessment criteria to determine grant applications submitted.

2.           It was confirmed that the reference in the report to hostile vehicle mitigation related to the possible positioning of street furniture in the form of anti-terrorism bollards to prevent vehicle incursions into pedestrian areas.  This matter was under discussion with Surrey Police to establish whether such measures remained relevant to certain areas across Guildford town centre.

3.           Whilst the E-Bike Hire Scheme did not currently include e-scooters as their use outside trial areas remained illegal, the associated contract included provision for the future inclusion of e-scooters in the event that the legislation changed in favour of them.

4.           The proposal to transfer the sum of £50,000 of revenue funding from the UKSPF to the REPF could be funded through a balancing of funding allocations currently profiled to the UKSPF.  Alternatively, the transfer could be funded from feasibility fund contributions potentially earmarked for progressing repairs to the Tumbling Bay Weir, depending on whether the Council decided to become involved in that project.  Any such funding changes were likely to require the approval of the DLUHC as a standard approach.

Having considered and discussed the report, the EAB endorsed the proposed interventions and changes associated with the Council’s UKSPF and the Rural Grant Programme proposed for Guildford’s REPF.  The Board also supported the progression of Guildford’s UKSPF and REPF plans, as outlined in the report.